St. Petersburg College is dedicated to the task of assisting students toward their goal of achieving a college education. During the first two years of college at St. Petersburg College, students secure a broad education in the area of English, Humanities, Social Science, Laboratory Science, Mathematics and Computers; in addition, they begin specialized work in their own particular fields of interest. It is the aim of SPC to provide quality instruction for transfer credit to senior institutions. The Associate in Arts degree program is intended for students planning to transfer to a public university or college to pursue Bachelor of Arts or certain Bachelor of Science degrees. The Associate in Arts degree requirements, as outlined on the previous pages, are designed to enable graduates to transfer at the junior level into B.A. as well as many B.S. degree programs at public universities and colleges in Florida and other states. The selection of elective courses should be based on information regarding requirements of the student’s intended transfer institution and major field of study. This information may be obtained from counselors/advisors and the appropriate college catalogs.
   

GENERAL EDUCATION
See the General Education Requirements shown in the Catalog	36 Credits
PREREQUISITES AND ELECTIVES
Request detailed information for requirements for each major from your Counselor or Academic Advisor	24 Credits
TOTAL	60 Credits

The State Universities and Community Colleges have developed common prerequisites for each of the majors offered in the State University System. For some of the majors the prerequisites are few, leaving students many choices for the courses they may take to satisfy General Education requirements and leaving room for additional electives. On the other hand, many majors have specified detailed prerequisites that will require careful course choices for satisfaction of the 36 hour General Education requirement as well as for the remaining 24 hours that students have to complete the Associate in Arts Degree.

Students must make certain that they meet the specific requirements of the institutions to which they plan to transfer.

Detailed information regarding the prerequisites for majors, institutional requirements and other important information for transfer students is provided in the Recommended A.A. Degree Programs Guide for approximately 250 majors. This complete Recommended A.A. Degree Programs Guide is available on the FACTS website www.FACTS.org.

Graduation Requirements

1. Students must satisfactorily complete at least 60 semester hours of college-level credits. At least 25 percent of the semester hours required for graduation must be earned at St. Petersburg College. Students who have left the College must be eligible to return for transfer credits to be accepted to meet graduation requirements. All other specific degree requirements must also be met. Credit awarded for college preparatory instruction (0000 designation courses) may not be counted toward fulfilling the total number of credits or the number of credits in residency, required for a degree.

2. Students must achieve a grade-point average of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 scale, for all work at St. Petersburg College considered alone and for all work at the College and transfer credits combined. The quality point value of transfer work accepted by the College will be included in grade point average computations for all purposes including determination of achievement of the required 2.0 grade point average to be graduated from St. Petersburg College.

3. Students must satisfactorily complete the general education requirements for the Associate in Arts degree including any assessment of educational outcomes that are required by the College.

4. Students must satisfactorily complete the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), unless exempt.

5. Students have a 15-session period, beginning with the academic year of initial enrollment, in which to complete graduation requirements under the terms of the College catalog which was in effect at the time of their initial enrollment. However, students may opt to meet the program course requirements for any catalog year within the 15-session period based on advisement provided by the program director and/or the counselor/advisor. Students who have not graduated within this 15-session period will begin a new 15-session period upon their next enrollment following the expiration of their previous 15-session period.

6. Students must submit a graduation application to the campus Admissions/Registration Office. Graduation application deadlines (usually the Friday of the 4th week of classes) will be published in the College catalog. Students must apply for graduation by the published deadline to be assured of final clearance for graduation, timely receipt of the diploma and participation in the graduation ceremonies. Late applications for graduation will be accepted until the last day of classes for the term in which the student wishes to graduate. However, students who apply late will not be listed in the graduation program and may not be able to order caps and gowns or participate in the graduation ceremonies.